Click, Clack, Quack to School! (Click Clack)

When Farmer Brown receives a letter requesting that he and the farm animals visit Dinkelmeyer Elementary School, he is excited: "He had not been to school in a very, very long time!" The cows, chickens, and pigs are eager as well, until Farmer Brown tells them "School is very serious," and they are not to moo, cluck, or oink, which dampens their enthusiasm. Things begin "quiet, serious, and calm" as the visitors arrive, but all bets are off when the recess bell rings: "And the pigs got oinky and holler, hoot, hollered!" A conclusion shows Duck behind the principal's desk. While the end may raise questions (was Duck the principal all along?), readers will grasp the idea that there is room at school for being serious and having fun. Ages 4-8. (July)

PreS-Gr 1-Farmer Brown and his barnyard companions are back in the latest addition to the much-loved series. This time around, Farmer Brown and the animals are invited to Farm Day Lunch at Dinkelmeyer Elementary School. Farmer Brown can't wait, and sets off to prepare the cows, chickens, and pigs, all of whom are excited because they've never been to school. Farmer Brown, however, makes sure they all know that school is very quiet, serious, and calm, and that there is to be no stomping, clomping, or mooing; no snapping, clapping, or clucking; and no hooting, hollering, or oinking. To Duck, whom he finds meditating, Farmer Brown admonishes, '"And try not to be so Duck-y.'" On the day of their visit, everyone piles silently into Farmer Brown's truck and waits quietly in the school yard upon arriving. When the bell rings for recess, the children spill onto the playground in a riot of sound and activity, and the animals all join in the fun--except for the mice, who "read graphic novels in the shade." As in previous entries in the series, Cronin's simple text and repeated refrains invite readers to participate in the story, and Lewin's watercolor illustrations are as expressive and amusing as ever. VERDICT A breezy back-to-school offering, this title will be welcome where other books in the series are popular.--Lauren Strohecker, McKinley Elementary School, Elkins Park, PA